My One Companion
by Fennec the Fox
Summary: No one lasts forever, we all go away someday. Sometimes we have to see a thousand people leave our lives before the truth sinks in. Immortality is a lonely gift, if only there was one to share it with... ***FC WARNING! RATING HAS CHANGED!***
1. Lonely Thoughts

**My take on Shadow and any relationship he would ever have with a female fan character. **

**I own nothing except for the storyline and the obvious fan characters (you'll know 'em when you see 'em).**

**Enjoy. Or, at least attempt to. :P**

***Mystery Person POV***

Project Shadow, the ultimate life form, just imagine the power. Imagine what someone could accomplish with that creature at one's disposal. He (or she) could rule the world; have the entire world in the palm of his (or her) hand. There's just one problem; no one can control it.

So, so many have tried to control this beast, all have failed. Nowadays I imagine it must take ages to gain a sliver of its trust. If only there was a way to contain its power, to control Project Shadow and use it for my plans…

Oh, wait… there _is. _

***Third Person***

The clouds hung lazily over the city. Dark, gloomy clouds, but not one shedding a single raindrop. For many, this was the sort of day to sleep in or just laze about the house, but not for a certain hedgehog.

No, this hedgehog of the black variety rather enjoyed this weather, though he didn't show it. It was calming, not like the blinding sunlight of the clear days. The sun was irritating, especially when one has dark colored fur, but the clouds were a shield for the blasted heat.

A groan was heard to the right of the hedgehog. He gave a side-long glance in the direction of the white bat walking next to him. She had been groaning and complaining all day. He imagined that it was because of the weather or because she'd rather be robbing jewelry stores. The hedgehog suppressed an eye roll, how much would this girl complain?

"Ugh, seriously, why do we have to patrol the city? I mean, since when was that our job?" she complained, "I have better things to do!"

"Silence Rouge," the hedgehog spoke in a harsh tone, clearly irritated with his partner.

"You're not the boss of ME, Shadow. After all, I was an agent before you were, if anything I'm your boss," Rouge remarked.

"Considering how often you've needed my help, I'd say your logic is flawed," Shadow stated flatly.

"What was that?!" asked the bat in an angry tone.

Shadow cracked a small smirk at this, but it was gone in an instant. As much as Rouge irritated him, he had to admit he liked her company… to an extent. She was still rather annoying when she wanted to be. Everyone around him was. Knuckles was an idiot, Miles was a geeky child, the rabbit had the most irritating voice he'd ever heard, don't get him started on faker, and Rose was obsessed WITH faker. Not that it mattered of course. They would all disappear one day, everyone does…

A tiny pang of sadness struck Shadow's heart at that thought. He was a creation, he was potentially immortal. He'd live to see the deaths of his "friends" and many more afterwards. If anyone else had been in his situation, they'd surely break down. But he was the ultimate life form, so he brushed away the feelings of sadness.

Shadow's mind began to wander as he and Rouge patrolled the city. As they walked his thoughts were interrupted by the beeping of Rouge's communicator. Rouge answered the call and Shadow stood, waiting for the commands Rouge was surely receiving. She soon turned to face him.

"We have to return to base, the Commander has an important mission for us."

Shadow simply pulled out his favorite chaos emerald and chaos controlled them to headquarters.

**Pfff… that was short… but that's probably because this is a chapter story. **

**Anyways, the first POV was from a fan character, but it's not the main one. Just so you know. :P**

**Also, on the subject of Shadow, I've never written for him before, how was he? OCC? Not OCC? Please tell me and give me advice so I can improve for the next chapter. I think I showed him with a bit too much emotion, but maybe not, I dunno. I'll also take tips for writing Rouge as well, I have no idea how she should act. D8**

**No idea when the next chapter will come. Soon? Later? Who knows? I sure don't.**

**Hasta la Pasta! **


	2. Mission

**Sooo… I'm back. Kinda went on a Hiatus, but, I'm hoping to finish this story before I dare take another. But with work and trying to spend time with family, writing inspiration just gets lost, sadly. I intend to finish though, for those who actually are interested in this story, I WILL finish.**

**Also, quick AN: Most people refer to the Sonic gang as "Mobians" because the cartoons/comics take place on Mobius, I refer to them as "anthros" because I think the games take place on an alternate Earth, and that's what a majority of people call humanoid animals; anthros.**

*****insert obligatory disclaimer here*****

***Evening, G.U.N. base***

The mismatched pair of anthros appeared at the base as quickly as they left the streets. They made their way through the halls to the commander's office in silence. One in silence because she wondered what this was all about, and the other in silence because that's who he was. They enter the office of the commander and walked up to his desk, awaiting their orders. The commander sat at his computer, eyes glued to the screen, obviously deep in thought. He held up a finger to signal he'd address them in a moment, never taking his eyes off the screen. Rouge rolled her eyes and muttered something about "wasted time" while Shadow took in his surroundings. He caught a soldier scowling at him from the corner of the room. Shadow gave a death glare in return before turning his attention back to the commander.

"Rouge, Shadow," the commander started, "I'm afraid we've uncovered some troubling news. It appears Eggman has found away to get past our security systems and stolen some of our equipment."

"It was only a matter of time you know," Rouge said, "I could break into this scrap heap easily if I wanted to."

The commander slammed his hands on the desk in anger, "DON'T YOU SEE ROUGE?! THIS IS FAR MORE SERIOUS THAN YOU THINK!"

He took a few deep breaths to compose himself before turning back to see the fuming face of Rouge and the mildly amused face of Shadow.

"Now," the commander started, "one of you tell me what was wrong with the sentence I spoke BEFORE Rouge's completely and utterly pointless comment?"

"Your 'High Security Compound' was able to be broken into in the first place?" Rouge spat.

Before the angry commander could retaliate Shadow opened his mouth for the first time since he entered the base.

"Eggman stole the equipment without destroying the base or attacking the soldiers," stated the hedgehog as if it were obvious.

"Good to know one of you has a brain," the commander muttered, "Shadow's exactly right. Eggman broke in, that much we see as in character, but of all the things we keep here, of all the things he could've stolen, he took some our equipment from the biology labs and left without a trace."

"We have biology labs?" Rouge asked, though no one heard her.

"That isn't the only thing he made off with," The commander began before being interrupted.

"Why would ROBOTNIK want biology equipment? That's not really his thing," Rouge asked again.

"Silence Rouge, what else did he take, commander?"

The commander was silent.

Rouge forgot all about the questions regarding the subject of biology and turned her focus to the commander. All was silent for a good minute before Rouge, once again, raised her voice.

"Well, commander? What else was stolen?"

The commander locked eyes with Shadow, the hedgehog could see the commander was very troubled about what he was about to say. He almost looked frightened.

"Your files," he stated, face deadpan and voice flat.

Shadow blinked, trying to process what this could mean. His files? What would the Doctor want with those? Moreover, why would he need to steal them from G.U. N. of all places? He should know everything about the hedgehog already right?

"Everything we ever had on you, from you days fifty years ago to what you ate for lunch yesterday, he has it all. Looking deeper into this mess," the commander said, going through the files on his computer, "it seems the Doctor stole all information we have on all you anthro-hogs. You, Sonic, even Amy Rose, he has your information."

"Pinky?" Rouge scoffed, "What in the world would Eggman want with _her_ files?"

"That, is what you two are going to find out."

***Night, Outside Eggman's Base***

Rouge and Shadow stood among the trees and bushes outside Eggman's base. He, for whatever reason, decided to return to the mystic ruins, probably hoping everyone would have forgotten he had one here. The two were quietly going over their plan; at least, they were trying to. Rouge wanted to do this her way. She wanted to sneak in cat burglar style as if she was robbing another wealthy man of his priceless jewels, but Shadow had something else in mind.

"Well then, exactly what do YOU plan to do?" asked Rouge.

Shadow swiftly grabbed her arm with one hand and pulled out his Chaos emerald with another.

"Chaos control."

"Oh you little-"

And just like that, the vanished.

***Night, Inside Eggman's Base***

The pair appeared in the heart of Eggman's base, the control room. Eggman was working on his giant computer, creating designs for a new robot and obviously oblivious to the duo's appearance.

"Doctor," Shadow said in a cold tone.

"GAAAHH!" Eggman jumped up and whirled around to face the bat and 'hog.

"Wha-What are you two doing here?! I haven't made any threats against humanity yet!" he said in a panicked voice before calming down a bit, "besides, it's Sonic's job to thwart me, not yours Shadow! You'll throw the universe out of balance!"

Shadow shook his head and took a few steps forward, looking the Doctor dead in the eye.

"I'm not here to ruin your plans Eggman, I'm here for answers."

Eggman cocked his head to the side in confusion, "Answers? What could I possibly have answers to that you would want to know about?"

Shadow opened his mouth to speak, but Rouge stepped forward before he could.

"We want to know why you broke into G.U.N. headquarters, stole equipment from the labs, downloaded files from our database about Shadow and Sonic, and left without destroying anything."

"Oh, that," Eggman turned back to his computer, "took you that long to figure that out, did it?"

"This isn't a joke Doctor," Rouge said sternly, "we want answers and you _will _give them to us."

"Who was joking? I'd be happy to tell you."

"Really?" Rouge asked, suspicions rising, "you're just going to tell us? It can't possibly be THAT easy."

"Oh, it isn't," the Doctor began, "you see, I'm not the one using the files OR the equipment."

"Is that so?" asked the bat, "then why steal them?"

Shadow, who had remained silent to try and figure out the reasons on his own, gave his full attention to the Doctor. The hedgehog waited ever so silently for this answer to so many questions.

Eggman turned to face the anthros before him.

"It was a favor for an old friend. He did me a service once, and now I have repaid him."

"But why?" asked the bat.

"You think I know?" Eggman shook his head and turned away from the pair, "Edmund was never the type you questioned. He asks for something, you give it."

"Edmund?" Shadow startled both the bat and human with the sudden question, "Edmund who?"

"You're going to go after him now, aren't you?"

"You didn't do a good job of answering our questions," Rouge said simply.

"… Very well," Eggman said before pulling up a world map on his computer, a forest on the other side of the globe highlighted.

"Dr. Edmund Sharper, my old colleague, lives here," Eggman pointed to the highlighted area, "He contacted me a week ago asking for the supplies. I robbed G.U.N. to save time. You don't ask questions and you certainly don't to keep him waiting."

Rouge and Shadow exchanged a glance.

"And why should I trust you?" Shadow asked, harshness in his voice, "you've never given me a reason in the past."

"Surely you've gathered what… an unpleasant person Sharper is. You would do me a favor by getting rid of him. I told you, my debt has been repaid. I owe him nothing."

A silence hung over the room. Eggman stood at his computer, continuing his work. Rouge and Shadow exchange another glance, as if to silently discuss their next move. Shadow broke the silence.

"Very well Doctor, we will be on our way then."

The two turned and walked out of the room in a familiar silence. Once out of the Docotr's earshot, Rouge side-stepped closer to shadow and whispered, "do you really believe what he said?"

"I don't like the circumstances any more than you, Rouge, but his word is all I have."

"What's all this 'I' business? We're a team remember?" Shadow could've sworn there was hurt laced in her voice.

"They were my files Rouge, if this is a trap, this 'Sharper' only wants me. From here on out, I'm going alone."

***Night, Inside Eggman's Base, One Hour Later***

Eggman looked up from his work to glance at the clock. Almost midnight, the pests would have been long gone by now. With this in mind he pulled up a different window on his computer and began to type a message.

_He took the bait, won't be long now. I hope you know what you've gotten yourself into, Sharper._

Eggman sent the message and went back to his work. Another hour passed before his computer alerted him of a new message. He opened it up and had to recompose himself after seeing the picture his old associate had sent.

_**Oh dear friend, you really don't know me, do you? **_

Eggman closed out of the message and thought about what he had seen. His associate, a monster, and just maybe a disaster waiting to happen…

**So that was a chapter. **

**I'm beginning to think that even if I'm not spot on with the characters, as long as their personalities are within the realm of possibility, it's acceptable. As far as that definition goes, I think I did fairly well. I hope this chapter makes up for the long wait. Well, for those reading anyway. **

**While on my Hiatus I made a new FC to go along with Sharper, "the monster" Eggman saw in the picture. So you'll see him next chapter! I daresay you'll also see the main FC in the next chapter too, hopefully… **

**That's all I have to say, be seeing you.**


	3. Beauty and the Abomination

**Yo. I'm back. Not that anyone really cares too much. It's okay, I understand. I'm still new to this so I don't expect many readers. But, please, if you DO like my stories, review. I don't have motivation to crank out chapters quick if you don't. I'll finish the stories someday, but I can't guarantee when. Anyway, this is the chapter some of you may stop if you haven't already. Kinda… out there. **

**I do not own Shadow or any of the other official Sonic characters. I only own: Dr. Edmund Sharper, Ko, Melina, and Eve. Those guys are all mine. **

-Outside Sharper Labs, Late Morning, Third Person-

The sun hung high in the sky. It was nearing noon, but not quite there yet. Shadow had managed to chaos control himself right outside the lab of the mystery doctor. He would've liked to teleport right to this, _Edmund_, but without knowing the interior of the labs, he could not guarantee an… ideal appearance.

Shadow took a moment to observe the exterior. It was actually a rather nice looking facility for being tucked away in the middle of a forest. One wing even appeared to have a large greenhouse overrun with plants, almost to the point of breaking through the glass walls. Turning his focus to the opposite side, he could make out what looked to be a small stone house fit snuggly against the metal structure, perhaps even attached somehow.

Curiosity flooded Shadow's being as he observed the house-like structure. Why would that ONE small building be stone while the rest was metal? Shadow brushed the thought aside. He was not here to discover why one building is not like the rest. He came for answers about this Sharper's plans.

Cautiously, Shadow walked to the door, awaiting any sort of defense mechanism to kick in. Surprisingly, there was none. He encountered little resistance reaching the door, and even less when opening it.

_Probably trying to get my guard down, _Shadow thought, frowning.

Shadow continued down the long metal hallway, trying to attract as little attention as possible. Not that there was anything to give attention in the first place. There was a distinct lack of security in this facility. Shadow had a hard time finding something as trivial as a security camera.

_Does he think he's safe? Simply because he lives in a forest? _Shadow scoffed, _The fool._

Eventually Shadow came to an intersection. The left path lead to a pair of glass doors and into the greenhouse he saw outside, the right path sloped downward several feet and then leveled off, making what appeared to be an underground passage to the stone house, and the forward path lead further into the facility.

Shadow stepped right to investigate the underground path, curiosity rising in him once more. Maybe there would be something useful in that hou—

"Not that way," the soft voice rang loudly in the dead silent halls.

Shadow slowly turned to face the owner of the voice. A young woman stood a mere five feet behind him, a deadpan expression upon her face. Shadow mentally cursed himself. How could he, the Ultimate Life form, be found out so quick and easily? He didn't even hear her come in.

"Big brother," she spoke softly once more, "he is ahead. He is waiting."

The eerie girl walked lightly- soundlessly- on her bare feet down the path to the stone house. Halfway down the slope she stopped and turned to face Shadow once more.

"He will be upset if you don't go," she turned and disappeared down the dark underground path.

Had Shadow been anyone else, he probably would've been scared stiff by that encounter. Her voice was sweet… but chilling. Like those little ghost girls you always see in horror movies. Perhaps that was what she was.

Shadow looked toward the middle path. Sharper was, according to the girl, down that way. Seeing as Sharper was the whole reason for coming, he saw no reason to go a different way. If it's a trap, he could get out of it, no problem.

-Inside Sharper's Computer Room, Noon, Third Person-

Shadow passed through the door as easily as he had passed the entrance door; no resistance. Inside, he saw a large monitor, similar to the kind Eggman would have. All along the ways were diagrams, thousands of diagrams. Each seemed to depict a humanoid creature, but Shadow could not be sure. Each diagram had strange writing scrawled all over, writing he had never seen before. Shadow then observed the chair in front of the monitor. There was a person in it, though Shadow couldn't make out his appearance. The man didn't even seem to acknowledge Shadow's presence.

A window on the monitor flashed a red "failure" message. The man grumbled at the sight. He pulled up other windows displaying the same message. All except for one. A window titled "PSR27" displayed a "stable" message, though this did not please the man much. Scanning the window titles, Shadow could see they all started "PSR" and followed soon after by a number, one through thirty. Before Shadow could read further, the man spun his chair around and sat up in shock at seeing another soul in the room with him, though he soon relaxed.

"So," the man began, "you've finally come, Project Shadow."

"Dr. Edmund Sharper, I presume."

"So Ivo told you my full name? I'm touched he still remembers," Sharper's mouth twisted into a sickening grin.

"Enough small talk, why did you have Eggman rob G.U.N. for you?" Shadow demanded.

Sharper stifled a laugh, "Eggman? Is that what he goes by these days? How charming!" Sharper let out a cackle.

Shadow frowned the lanky doctor, "Answer my question."

Sharper pushed his glasses further up his nose and observed the anthro hedgehog before him. He frowned. This 'hog was in no place to be making orders.

Sharper sat back in his chair and observed the hedgehog with a lidded gaze.

"Why? I have no reason to."

"I have ways to make you talk," Shadow threatened, patience thinning.

Sharper scoffed, "I don't spill my guts easy," his sick grin returned, "not with this job."

"What about your sister?" Shadow inquired.

A dead silence hung in the air. A smirk crawled up on the hedgehog's muzzle. Shadow never would have harmed the girl, you see. She had done nothing wrong, Maria would have been disappointed. But seeing the grin of the lanky doctor drop like a rock meant the blackmail had been successful.

"You met Eve," Sharper finally uttered in a monotone voice, an icy glace replacing the creepy one from earlier.

Without a word Sharper stood and strode over to a door in the back that Shadow had not seen when he entered. Shadow watched as the doctor inched toward the door, never once letting his guard down.

"I would've told you, you know. I wouldn't have let you in if I didn't want you to find out," Sharper turned to Shadow and motioned for him to follow.

Cautiously, Shadow trailed behind Sharper. Once at the door, Sharper pulled out a key and unlocked it. The door swung open with a moan, and the sight beyond it made Shadow stagger back in shock. Not many things took the hedgehog off guard, but this was… unexpected from an accomplice of _Eggman. _

Capsules. Large capsules, all at least eight feet tall. Capsules filled with black muck, capsules containing dead bodies, capsules filled with blood and dismembered bodies. They lined the room, fifteen on each side. All displaying a red "failure" message on the control panel save for one near the back that Shadow could not quite see.

Shadow's brow furrowed in confusion. What was he looking at here? Shadow glanced to the man towering next to him, hoping for an answer. The man shook his head at the room in disappointment.

"Twenty-nine out of thirty, failures. Miserable ones."

"And what, pray tell, where you trying to do here?" Shadow asked.

Sharper glanced down at the Hedgehog skeptically, "can you not put it together."

Shadow observed the room once more, "clearly the equipment was used to make these… failures."

"Brilliant observation," Sharper said, rolling his eyes.

"And my files were for…"

Shadow's mind suddenly went to the file names on Sharper's computer. _PSR_, what could that stand for? It obviously referred to the failures here, seeing there were thirty files, all but one failed. He then remembered how Sharper first addressed him.

_So, you've finally come, Project Shadow. _

PSR, Project Shadow…

_Oh, _it finally clicked, _oh, __**no. **_

"Project Shadow Recreation…" Shadow mumbled.

"You're trying to make another me," Shadow growled.

A smirk spread across the twisted man's face. Shadow knew he had hit the nail on the head with that one.

"So why take Fa- Sonic and Amy's files too?! They have nothing to do with me!"

"Sonic? Curiosity mostly," Sharper answered honestly before walking to the back of the room.

"And Rose?" Shadow followed Sharper's footsteps.

Sharper turned to face Shadow, "Twenty-nine failures, my friend, twenty-nine," Sharper seethed.

"All male."

Shadow noticed Sharper had turned his gaze to his left. Following his line of sight, Shadow saw a capsule labeled "PSR27 (Melina)" a green "stable" message on the control panel. Inside the capsule he saw what appeared to be a dark, almost black, grey hedgehog girl. Suspended upside-down in a blue fluid and wires connected to various parts of her body.

"Studying Miss Rose and you together provided me with a stable prototype," Sharper said a grin spreading across his face, "I guess you could say you and miss Rose gave birth to this lovely creature."

Shadow looked at the Doctor in disgust. Not necessarily for suggesting this girl was the daughter of Amy Rose and him, but the whole project he had been running down here. Creating and destroying numerous lives and he wasn't even done yet, that girl was just a "prototype."

"For what purpose," Shadow began, temper rising, "are you making these copies."

"Personal reasons," Sharper spat, "I'll spare you the sob story."

Sharper turned to walk away, but Shadow spoke up once again, "I hope you know I won't let you continue."

"Oh, really?" Sharper turned, his already sick grin becoming even more twisted than before.

Shadow merely offered a glare in return, preparing to wreck the facility and all its tools.

Sharper let out a dark chuckle, "I was hoping you'd say that."

Shaper made a dash for the corner, Shadow hot on his heels. But before Shadow could attack, he was surprised to see more monitors in the corner, wires hooking up to something resting on a wood bench, covered with a once white sheet. Off to the side a canister displaying a hazardous waste symbol was rusting… or was that something else?

"Obviously I cannot complete my personal Project Shadow without studying the original. So, in order to do so," Sharper drew off the sheet to reveal an… anthro.

"I created the perfect practice dummy. Five poor children, each near death, rescued by my research and joined together, each different piece its own sentient being."

Shadow let his tough exterior drop once more. What had this man DONE? The head, torso, and left leg were all that of a fox, but one ear was that of a rabbit, and the tail looked as if it was once a lizard's appendage. Two mismatched arms were sewn loosely to the body, though Shadow could not tell what they once belonged to.

"What… what did you…"

"I saved five little boys. They are my sons now, my children…" Sharper mused, stroking the abomination's muzzle with the back of his index finger.

Shadow could not hold back his rage, **"SAVED THEM?! THEY'RE AS GOOD AS DEAD NOW! EVEN IF IT COULD MOVE, IT WOULD ONLY BE ONE MIND!" **

Sharper did not reply, though he wore an amused expression. He typed a command into the computer. He then leaned over the abomination, now beginning to stir from its slumber.

"Wake up, Ko," Sharper whispered in a sickening voice, "it's time to play."

**Aaaaand I lost you didn't I? Yup, I thought so. Rating's going up a notch thanks to this one. Also, I kinda gave up trying to make Shadow's character "spot on," so I just made him act within reason. **

**Fan character descriptions because I didn't want to drag the story with 'em. **

**Dr. Edmund Sharper- A tall, pale man. Light, greasy brown hair that hangs over his eyes and is pulled back into a rat tail. Wears grey shirt, black pants and shoes, and a white, blood stained lab coat. His eyes are a dark violet. He studies biology and anatomy. **

**Eve Sharper- Edmund's sister. Thin and pale with honey-colored hair that reaches a couple inches past her shoulders in gentle waves. Usually barefoot with a long white dress. Eyes a dull blue, very good at sneeking up on people without even trying. **

**PSR27 (Melina)- A dark grey, female hedgehog (biosynthetic). Currently naked, but when she isn't she wears outfits consisting of purple and black. Her eyes are heterochromic- one is blue, the other green. Her quills have dull blue and green streaks similar to shadow, though her quills point down like Amy's and she even has long grey bangs similar to Amy's too. (Just think of her as a figurative daughter of Shadow and Amy and you should be fine). **

**Ko- The only thing to add that I didn't mention before was that his eyes are pitch black. That's pretty much all I can say for now.**

**So… yeah, now you know how to picture them for the next chapter if you're still gonna read this story. I know, some of you probably are done with this now, but for those who are intrigued, stay tuned, I WILL finish this. **

**See you next time.**


	4. A Tiny Life Form

**Hey, guys. Fennec the fox here, trying to end this piece ASAP. It's been going on long enough; there will probably be only one more chapter after this. Maybe two, I'm not sure. **

**A few derps I made in character descriptions at the end of the last chapter:**

**Ko has two legs. The way I described him made it sound like he only had one, but he has two. The leg that is not a part of the fox torso is from the rabbit body. In case you were wondering the five boys were: a fox, a rabbit, a lizard, a rat, and a ferret. A bit of trivia, Ko's design is based largely on Sally the Ragdoll from Nightmare Before Christmas. **

**Melina's face and arm fur is a very pale peach, forgot to mention that. **

**Sharper's hair style has changed from a rat tail to a long thin pony tail. I decided I didn't like how he looked with the rat tail, so I changed it. Another bit of trivia about Sharper, he is based largely on the father from the RPG Horror Pixel game, Mad Father. **

**That's about it. I do not own Shadow, Rouge, or any other official characters. I only own Sharper, Ko, Melina, and Eve.**

**-Sharper's Labs, Noon, Third Person-**

The corpse called Ko slowly opened its eyes and slowly pushed himself up from the table. It stared intently at Shadow, motionless. Shadow stared back, waiting. Sharper stood back and observed the two; Shadow for any useful information and Ko for any sign of failure.

Without warning Ko lounged at Shadow, swiping his claws at Shadow's face. Shadow dodged it easily but was quite impressed with the creature's speed; though it was nothing compared to him. Shadow swung around behind Ko and delivered a swift kick to the back of its head. Ko collapsed immediately, being very off balance enough as is. Shadow frowned at his opponent and turned to Sharper.

"Is that really the best you had? Disgusting," Shadow said with a glare.

Sharper merely grinned, "Tell me, Project Shadow, what do you never do in a fight?"

Shadow gave Sharper a look, but before he could offer a response he felt something wrap around his leg and pull him down. Shadow turned his head to see that Ko's long lizard tail had been the cause of his fall.

"Never turn your back on your opponent," Sharper stated in answer to his own question before pressing a key on his keyboard.

Ko opened his eyes wide in response and with a newfound strength pulled himself onto his hands and, in an almost break dancing style, spun Shadow around before releasing him from his tail's grip into one of the study capsules. Shadow recovered from the throw quickly, but was punched in the jaw by Ko shortly after.

Ko pulled his right arm back for another punch only for Shadow to grab Ko's wrist in a death grip. With Ko's immobilized, Shadow reeled his own arm back and delivered his own punch to Ko's Chest and sent Ko into the Capsules on the opposite side of the room. The other side of the room… Shadow never let go of Ko's wrist…

Shadow looked at his hand and saw that he did, in fact, still have Ko's arm in his grip. Shadow quickly threw the appendage on the ground in disgust. Looking up, Shadow did not see any movement from Ko, maybe he was really done this time.

"Remember what I said," Sharper called from the other side of the room.

"_Don't turn your back on your opponent," I know, I haven't you fool, _were Shadow's thoughts as he glared at the Mad Doctor.

That is, until he recalled something Sharper had said only moments earlier.

"_I created the perfect practice dummy. Five poor children, each near death, rescued by my research and joined together, each different piece its own sentient being."_

_You have got to be kidding me- _Shadow thought before feeling sharp claws dig into his skin by his right ear.

The arm, and every other distinct piece of Ko, could move and act on its own.

Shadow growled in frustration and pain, prying the hand from off his head. After freeing his scalp from the claws of death he threw the arm at Ko, still in a motionless heap at the other end of the room.

"ENOUGH," Shadow exclaimed in a booming voice.

"CHAOS," he raised his arm in the air as Sharper pointed a device in Shadow's direction, "SPEAR!"

The chaos energy was hurdled directly at the abomination and was received with full force. Shadow let out a breath of exasperation and Sharper, collecting the last piece of data he needed, grinned like he always did. Shadow turned suddenly to Sharper and rushed up to him in a matter of seconds, jumping on a table to get to his level and grabbing his shirt collar in a threatening way.

"If you know what's good for you," the hedgehog began, his voice a menacing tone, "you will shut down your operations and NEVER cross me again."

Sharper, responded, with a smug look on his face, "what makes you think you can stop me? I told you I don't spill my guts easy; and Eve is long gone by now. Killing me would be a blessing as far as I'm concerned, you cannot win here."

Sharper laughed, finding the situation quite amusing. Shadow, on the other hand, thought it to be more than irritating.

A sharp sting spread throughout Shadow's abdomen. He glanced down to see Sharper had injected something into him. Shadow released his grip on Sharper and staggered backwards. His whole body was going numb. Sharper collected Ko in his arms and ran out the room, but not before shouting to Shadow one last time.

"Of course, death would be rather inconvenient this point."

-Inside Sharper Labs, Early Evening, Third Person-

_Shadow…_

How could he have let this happen? He had never been so careless before. To think, that sick, twisted human had gotten the better of him somehow. Now he remembered why he hated some of them so much…

_Shadow._

His limbs felt heavy, like lead. He could barely move. And when he did, his head received a splitting pain and he felt as if he would throw up. He had never felt so terrible before.

_Shadow!_

How DID Sharper get the better of him anyway? It's not like he was the strongest human in existence, he didn't even seem that smart to be honest. He was living in a forest doing illegal experiments without security; that did not sound like a very bright man. Perhaps the shock of it all did him in. After all, this was a man that has connections with Eggman. Eggman, who builds over-the-top robots to take over the world, one does not expect that kind of man to be connected to the kind of psycho Sharper was.

"SHADOW! Wake up, hun!"

Shadow snapped his eyes open at the sound of the familiar voice. Sure enough, Rouge was sitting by his side, fingers on his wrist to take his pulse.

"What are _you_ doing here?" he asked in an annoyed tone.

"There you are. You almost had me worried there, Shad. Almost," she spoke, offering him her usual flirty smile.

Shadow narrowed his eyes at her, "It's bad enough that Sonic calls me that, must you use that name too?"

"Yup, you're back," she said quietly, almost as if to reassure herself.

Rouge, while she did her best to cover it, was deeply worried about Shadow. She knew deep down he would be alright as he had been through worse, but seeing one of your closest friends collapsed on the floor… Anyone would be worried. Seeing him acting like his usual self was a comfort to her. He might have been knocked off his feet, but she knew he'd be fine.

Rouge observed the room, trying to make of what it was, "so what exactly did you find out?"

Shadow sat up slowly, still feeling a bit sick, "Sharper was conducting illegal experiments," he grunted.

"Experiments?" Rouge asked, giving Shadow her full attention, "What kind of experiments?"

"Experiments to create a new me, another 'Ultimate Life form'."

"Another you?!" Rouge echoed in surprise, "But why?"

Shadow exhaled another breath of exasperation, "what, you didn't bother to hack his computer and find out for yourself?"

"How could I? The power's out."

Now it was Shadow's turn to show (mild) surprise, "the power's out?"

"Yeah, the only light we have is coming in through those windows up there," She gestured to said windows near the ceiling.

At that point Shadow completely disregarded all sickly feelings he had and dashed towards the capsule that held the only stable prototype. To his surprise, she was still there, though the fluids in the capsule had drained out and she was now laying on the bottom.

Rouge joined him at his side, "is that…?"

Shadow noded.

Rouge looked at the girl in pity. True, the experiment was most likely meant for evil, but, she hadn't done anything wrong. In fact she was helpless. Rouge turned to Shadow.

"What should we do, Shadow?"

Shadow thought for a moment before speaking, "We take her with us. Sharper doesn't want her, maybe she'll be useful."

Rouge nodded and flew to the top of the capsule and opened it. After pulling the tiny life form out, she landed by Shadow who pulled out his Chaos Emerald and teleported them back to head quarters.

-The City, Morning, three days later, Third Person-

Shadow and Rouge were back where this whole mess began, patrolling the city for anything suspicious, and also keeping eyes and ears open for information on Sharper. He had gotten away, as had his sister and the entire stone building by the lab. Shadow still couldn't wrap his mind around that one, how had that building disappear? He hadn't imagined it, had he? Regardless, Sharper, his research and his family had disappeared after Shadow passed out, and Shadow was going to find them.

So far their searches had turned up nothing. No one even knew who Sharper was and Eggman had relocated after Shadow and Rouge visited him the last time. And though he currently presented no threat to the world, the thought of a scientist capable of such horrors out there somewhere loomed ominously overhead.

"When do you think we'll find a lead? I mean, they still haven't found the records on him!" Rouge asked her black furred partner.

"The sooner the better," he responded in monotone.

"Well, obviously, but-" she was interrupted by the sound of her communicator.

Rouge answered the call and Shadow stood close by waiting for instructions as always. The call ended shortly and Rouge turned to Shadow, a serious expression on her features.

"Urgent news back at base," she stated plainly.

Shadow merely nodded and, you guessed it, controlled them back to base.

-G.U.N. Headquarters, Morning, Third Person-

Soon after entering the Commander's office both Shadow and Rouge took notice of the little grey hedgehog girl sitting on top of the Commander's desk fiddling with a Rubik's cube. The Commander gestured to the tiny one as he addressed the two anthros before him.

"Her motor skills are improving as you can see. She can run without tripping every five feet now too. She also seems to be rather intelligent as she's solved that damned puzzle twenty times today already, though that could just be insane luck."

Shadow and Rouge exchanged a glance. While this was good and perhaps even exciting news, neither could see how it was urgent. Melina is improving, great. But couldn't that have been said simpler over the communicator? The Commander spoke again.

"She still has not spoken properly, however. Every time she tries it comes out raspy and nearly unintelligible."

Melina turned to him and responded, inadvertently proving his point, "Aghh taaahk aahveence taah taght."

The Commander ignored her disturbing sounding words, "Yet perhaps the best news about her progress is that the Doctors have confirmed there to be traces of chaos energy in her body. It's low, very low, but we might actually have a mini shadow up our sleeves within a year or so."

That was interesting news, to be certain. But Shadow still couldn't see how it was deemed "urgent." He also thought it to be a rather big stretch to say this girl would amount to be his equal. Not to sound sexist, but HE was the Ultimate, she was just a Prototype of a mad scientist.

"Now that we have Melody's progress out of the way," the Commander continued, oblivious to the glare he was receiving from Melina, "We now get to why you're really here. "

The two partners leaned forward to hear just what the commander was about to reveal to them.

"We found the file on a certain Edmund Sharper," the Commander said, expression more serious than ever.

"Great! What did you find?" Rouge asked, itching to make that sicko taste her boot.

The Commander stared at her, face deadpan. Tension hung thick in the air. Even Melina could feel it as she stared at the Commander with an uneasy expression.

"Edmund Sharper has been dead for eighteen years."

**DUN DUN DUUUUUUUN!**

**Who saw that coming? **

**Brownie points if you can figure out what Melina Said. **

**I think we just have an epilogue now, not quite sure though as I said. But it's almost over, don't worry. No sense in beating a dead horse, right? … Lots of death in this story, I need to stop it. XD**

**This chapter would've been longer, but I realized how much I suck at fight scenes. I also, for the record, hate how unfocused I made Shadow, but it had to be done to progress the chapter. Remember, the environment is unsettling, it would throw anyone off. **

**And apparently Sharper is a little derp who remembers his creepy rag doll but not his normal looking daughter figure, who knew?**

**Anyways, that's about all I have to say I think. I'll try to get the next chapter out sooner than I have been. XP**

**See you someday! **


End file.
